Topher pieces together a VFD VS4-10 Custom

[Topher Builds]

Well, over the last few months I’ve been grabbing parts for what would eventually be some type of VS4-10 build with the VFD. I had one of the OG VS4-10s, number 88 iirc, and really enjoyed the build and the quality of the truck. I eventually sold it as there weren’t a whole lot of directions to take it at the time and I wanted the funding for other builds. Pic of the OG below.

I eventually tried to mimic the vs4-10 with a “TRX10.2” http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/traxxas-trx-4/611865-topher-builds-trx10-2-a.html because of the similarities in the chassis clearance and the forward motor oriented transmission. While this project has been a lot of fun, it’s no replacement for a vs4-10.

Once vanquish announced the VFD my ears perked up and I started kicking around ideas for the build. I really wanted to do a rear portal with the VFD but after considering various transmission options and final drive ratios I decided that project is best served with a non-VFD set up. Then vanquish released the 21% OD for the VFD and put everything on sale over the holidays so the $5 foot long diet and the vanquish parts grab began.

At the end of the day, even after getting mostly everything for 15% off the vs4-10 pro kit is still a good value. I think my final cost ended up a little bit higher but thanks to the discounts, Christmas gift cards, and Amain reward points this ended up being doable. I also made some choices that make it a bit different than a box stock pro on purpose, because there’s no point in paying more for what I could get in the kit.

I digress, enter the VS4-10 Pro Custom build. Here’s a pic of all the parts that will be used. And a quick run down of the plans. At this point I haven’t done anything but inventoried what’s been gathered over the last few months to make sure I’m ready to build.

VS4-10 chassis
VFD transmission kit
VFD Battery plate
Vanquish D44 Axles - Black
VP 21% OD Kit
Incision Driveshafts
Incision 12.0” link set (hoping this helps with some of the ground Clarence on the VFD skid)
VFD Aluminum Stand Offs
SSD Brass Knuckles
VP 1.9 KMC Bully Gray Wheels
VP 1.9 silver rings
Proline 1.9” BFG Krawler Predator Compound
Proline 1.9” Dual Stage Foams
SSD Steel Brake Rotor Disc Weights and hubs
Samix Brass Hexes
Boom Racing OD Gears in front
Fast Eddy AR44 bearings
Holmes Hobbies BRXL and HeyOk No Brainer BEC
Holmes Hobbies Torque Master Pro 27T
MKS X5 HBL550 Servo
Traxxas PTFE coated and TiN GTS shocks with white springs up front and stock in rear
Axial Blazer Body

 

[soze]

Nice! I can't wait to see what you do with it! I won't be touching mine until way into 2020 as I have several other builds to take care of first, but I'm definitely going to be watching yours for ideas! 8)

 

[B-MOW71]

This build is going to be sweet!"thumbsup"

Looks like a great collection of parts! It should be a killer rig when completed!
You have way more patience than I do!:ror: I would have had a hard time keeping all them pieces/parts in their bags!

I forgot you had one of the original VS4-10's too! Glad you posted a pic of it. It is a great looking rig!

Can't wait to follow along!

Happy New Year TB!

 

[MaX-D]

SUBSCRIBED!

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[JatoTheRipper]

Look at that fun, pile of parts! I'll be watching this one.

You did confuse me because you said it was best served with a non-VFD setup, but then you went on to touch on the overdrive advantage of the VFD and you listed it in your parts. :ror:

 

[Topher Builds]

Thanks dudes! I’m really excited to start this one. May take some time with it since we’ve been stuck in temps around the 40s and 50s with no relief in sight, so it will be at least a couple weeks till I can paint :|

This build is going to be sweet!"thumbsup"

Looks like a great collection of parts! It should be a killer rig when completed!
You have way more patience than I do!:ror: I would have had a hard time keeping all them pieces/parts in their bags!

I forgot you had one of the original VS4-10's too! Glad you posted a pic of it. It is a great looking rig!

Can't wait to follow along!

Happy New Year TB!

Happy new year! And I don’t want to admit how many times I opened the boxes I’ve been stowing parts in just to thumb through them and reinventory. I did eventually build one wheel :lmao:

Look at that fun, pile of parts! I'll be watching this one.

You did confuse me because you said it was best served with a non-VFD setup, but then you went on to touch on the overdrive advantage of the VFD and you listed it in your parts. :ror:

Haha yeah I could see that. I meant that the rear portal and the VFD didn’t seem to work well together because of the OD to the front by default in the VFD and the difference in ratios already from a vp portal compared to a straight axle. It is doable with a VFD but even with an OD in the rear diff and the VP OD portal gears the drive ratios were further apart than I’d want (I think it was around 40% OD but I can’t remember exactly) I may get into that project later in the year with a stealth x since I can flip it to OD the rear and close the gap in the ratios.

Edit* I may have been off in my math on the VFD with a rear portal... should have watched this again but still an option for the future https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RZS3i59okq4

 

[GA Dawg]

Good call on the good looking D44 axles. I don't care if the F9's are modeled after a real axle, they are butt ugly.

 

[svt923]

Thanks dudes! I’m really excited to start this one. May take some time with it since we’ve been stuck in temps around the 40s and 50s with no relief in sight, so it will be at least a couple weeks till I can paint :|

Sounds like someone isn't committed enough to the hobby.

Can't paint because its only 50*? You have a kitchen counter don't you? A little overspray on your food only has like a 2% chance of killing you.:lmao:

Now excuse me while I go back to watching this build and not painting the 5 other bodies I should be painting. "thumbsup"

 

[Topher Builds]

@GA Dawg. I agree, once this was getting pieced together instead of a full kit there was no way I was going for the f9’s over the lovely D44s. Although if I ever do a rear portal build with vanquish axles I’ll end up with a front f9 too.

Sounds like someone isn't committed enough to the hobby.

Can't paint because its only 50*? You have a kitchen counter don't you? A little overspray on your food only has like a 2% chance of killing you.:lmao:

Now excuse me while I go back to watching this build and not painting the 5 other bodies I should be painting. "thumbsup"

Haha only 2%? I like those odds.

I’m getting close to trying to rent out a friend’s garage for a day, I’m in the same boat and have 3 bodies sitting around waiting for paint.

 

[CODYBOY]

@GA Dawg. I agree, once this was getting pieced together instead of a full kit there was no way I was going for the f9’s over the lovely D44s. Although if I ever do a rear portal build with vanquish axles I’ll end up with a front f9 too.



Haha only 2%? I like those odds.

I’m getting close to trying to rent out a friend’s garage for a day, I’m in the same boat and have 3 bodies sitting around waiting for paint.

You can come use mine for free!!!:lmao:"thumbsup"
Ernie

 

[Topher Builds]

You can come use mine for free!!!:lmao:"thumbsup"
Ernie

With all the tools in your garage and knowledge in your head you may not get rid of me for a while haha :lmao:

That would be awesome though, I would enjoy learning some metal fab.

 

[Topher Builds]

Not a ton of progress yet but I got the wheels and tires all together. Opted for silver rings instead of the black ones that came with the bully’s and I like that it pops a little.

The backside pic shows the ssd stainless brake rotor and the ssd hex hub.

 

[B-MOW71]

Wheel/tire combo looks great![emoji106]

I’m a big fan of the silver rings! I’ve been slowly swapping my black rings out for silver.

I like the SSD rotor/hexes!


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[JatoTheRipper]

I love the Bully's more and more. They look great.

 

[Topher Builds]

This weekend it was time to build the axles. I realized I forgot to get hex pins and put in a quick order for some and those should be here today.

When building these axles I ran into a couple of issues. One was seating the bearings on the universals. This was tough as has been mentioned before but not something that can’t be worked around with a little time and sand paper.

The second issue I ran into was with the ssd brass knuckles. I have several sets of these and never ran into any issues before, however for whatever reason the long side of the axle and this new ssd knuckle didn’t play well together.

I emailed VP and had a response the next morning asking for photos, and they mentioned it can be tough to guarantee fit from different manufacturers parts. This got me thinking and since I had two other rigs with these knuckles and AR44 based axles on it I decided to try and swap a knuckle I know fits properly onto the VP axle to see if it would work out. Wouldn’t you know it the knuckle from my trail king fit perfectly, the holes lined up and the axle was completed shortly after.

So I took the new knuckle I was trying to fit on the VP axle, installed it in the trail king, and it fit just fine there, one hole was a smidge off but it still mounted well.

I’m glad I didn’t need any new parts and can continue with the build now. Next up will be chassis and transmission.

Wheel/tire combo looks great![emoji106]

I’m a big fan of the silver rings! I’ve been slowly swapping my black rings out for silver.

I like the SSD rotor/hexes!


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I love the Bully's more and more. They look great.

Thanks fellas! It’s taking a lot of willpower not to throw these on the Capra, we’ll see how long that holds up :ror:

 

[soze]

That last shot there... beautiful. Just beautiful.

 

[MaX-D]

Those are the best-looking axles I've ever seen!

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[Brandon]

Awesome build. Really nice to see all these individual parts come together to complete a build. We're working really hard to release more and more options so builds like these can match customers personal preferences. "thumbsup"

 

[Topher Builds]

Made a lot of progress this weekend and she’s now rolling under her own power. I’m going to need to crack it open again unfortunately as the ssd overdrive gear and vp housing don’t seem to play well together. It will run but when turning it skips, I had a hard time getting a decent mesh before installing and will likely go back to a normal 30/8 ring and pinion and run the 21% OD alone. Should be plenty!

Anyhow, here are some pics and two items of note that I ran into with the VP OD, VFD kit, and chassis kit together.

First; The OD gears don’t come with instructions, but if you’ve ever been inside a transmission before then it’s fairly straightforward. There is one little piece though that I could see being overlooked so I wanted to touch on that. In the first pic below there is a small black aluminum stand off included in the OD gear set that threads into the new bearing plate. I didn’t take a pic of it before I installed it but this should help point it out.

Second: The VFD instructions start with a step suggesting the installation of optional VFD mounts. This part was confusing because the shape of the VPS10126 is different in the VFD instructions than it is in the chassis instructions. What I mistakenly did was I installed the mounts (which I’m fairly certain came in the VFD bag) in the spot circled in blue. Do NOT do this. Or you’ll be sad like me when you get to the end and try to mount the transmission, just to find out those mounts will interfere with and prevent you from mounting the transmission. Even worse, you have to drop the frame rails to remove the mounts since they install on the brace before the brace goes on the chassis.

I’m not sure if the VPS10126 part changed at some point. But what I realized is the mounts that were already molded into and part of the VPS10126 brace are the mounts that line up perfectly with the VFD. In looking at the photo from the VFD directions, it appears those mounts may have originally been screwed into the brace with the OG kit, and those would have been replaced with the mounts from the VFD kit. However, since the mounts on my brace were molded into the rest of the brace, there’s no way or need to change them. I am still a bit confused about this but everything mounted up great and feels sturdy.

Lastly, one odd thing I also noticed was that the VFD kit came with both an aluminum (I assume) slipper eliminator and also a plastic version of the same piece. I opted for the metal one of course, but it’s nice to have a spare part if ever needed.

No idea what happened with the mounts or if messed something up when dumping parts on the table, but at the end of the day she’s all built and ready for body mock up so I am excited.

That last shot there... beautiful. Just beautiful.

Many thank you’s sir.

Those are the best-looking axles I've ever seen!

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They’re certainly sharp axles! Going to choke back a couple tears when I start beating on them.

Awesome build. Really nice to see all these individual parts come together to complete a build. We're working really hard to release more and more options so builds like these can match customers personal preferences. "thumbsup"

Thanks Brandon! I’m really excited about the direction you all are taking this kit. It’s great to have all these different options for VS4-10 and custom builds.

 

[Topher Builds]

And a couple pics of it all together. I don’t think I mentioned this already but the shocks are traxxas GTS(x). The x meaning the version with the ptfe coating and TiN shafts. I like em! Don’t mind the electronics, just connected but I need to mount the receiver and find a spot for the heyok BEC to hide.

Also, I’m thinking the answer to this is yes but want to make sure before I order something, has anyone ran an aftermarket scx10ii shock tower in the rear?

The truck is very study and well built. I love the quality of this kit, and I was surprised to see that it could do the sideways stand right after being built. "thumbsup"